


It's Been One Week

by PenguinMerchant



Series: Don't Stop Believin' [1]
Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Anal Sex, Frottage, M/M, Masturbation, galo makes dessert, it gets so sappy, lio gets a hangover, lio thinks too much, meis/gueira if you squint, they're both dummies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 09:08:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21296993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenguinMerchant/pseuds/PenguinMerchant
Summary: Lio and Galo play a stupid game, and Lio gets a stupid prize—Galo's got to do everything Lio says for an entire week.  Lio starts abusing this power almost immediately, to Galo's delight, but as the week wears on Lio becomes more and more confused about their relationship.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Series: Don't Stop Believin' [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539145
Comments: 23
Kudos: 635





	It's Been One Week

Lio Fotia likes the cold.

He didn't think he would. Cold, after all, used to mean pain, restriction, Freeze Force, not being able to burn...but it doesn't mean that any more. Now it doesn't mean anything more than it means for anyone else, and isn't that what he wanted this whole time? To be like everyone else? He likes the way the cold bites into his skin and makes his ears burn. He likes the way everything tingles when he warms himself up, and he likes cuddling up in blankets to keep warm, which is something he never really got to do before. He hasn't needed (wanted) to get inside a giant stack of blankets and just snuggle into it, waiting for the warmth inside of him to build back up since he was 14, back before...everything. He has been burning up for the last twenty years and he is ready for something different.

Lio also likes the quiet.

He never realized how much the Promare took up his thoughts, how much their constant chatter and their need to burn overwhelmed him, took up space that he now has free. He feels like he finally just gets to be himself again, and it's exciting, getting to figure out what that really means. He can just sit here at the edge of this meadow, letting the chill wind cool him down after a workout and let his mind clear out and there just be...nothing.

“Lioooooo!!”

Well, almost nothing.

Lio doesn't need to turn around to see who is bothering him; if the obnoxiously loud motor bike hadn't warned him of his impending guest five minutes ago when he caught wind of it (he swore he could also hear better, now that the Promare were gone, like they had been taking decibel space up in his brain) he knows there is only one person who would bother to come out here and find him.

“I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?” He asks as Galo Thymos plops down next to him. There is no heat in the question; if Lio wants to think about it (which he doesn't) the fact that Galo can't go more than a few hours without seeing him or checking up on him makes his stomach do flips. But it doesn't matter. Because he is definitely not thinking about that.

“You've been gone for hours!” Galo says. “How was I supposed to know if you were okay? What're you doing out here anyway? Digging holes?”

“I'm just—wait, digging—why would I be digging holes?” Lio asks, trying to catch up with Galo's train of thought, such as it is.

“I. Don't. Know.” Galo says slowly. “That's why I had to come find you.”

“In case I was digging holes without you.” Lio offers.

“Right!” Galo says, and leans back, crossing his stupidly large arms behind his ridiculously handsome face. He isn't wearing a shirt—of course—and Lio puts all of his concentration into staring at a line of ants that are marching past him on the ground.

“I was practicing.” He says after a moment. “Just practicing...and thinking.”

Galo perks up at the mention of practicing, ignores the part about the thinking, and uses his giant body to just straight up lean over Lio, who can't help but sputter a bit at Galo's absolute lack of boundaries. He pushes him away, not gently, but it takes more than a not-gentle push to move Galo when he's got his mind on something. Contact with Galo always puts him out of his comfort zone, and although he tells himself that without the Promare he's ready to chase new experiences, new feelings, he's not sure how to handle this thing yet, whatever it is he feels around Galo, and sometimes he's not sure how to act. Besides, Galo's just a friendly guy, he's touchy with everyone. Okay, he's _more_ touchy with Lio than anyone else, plus Lio's been crashing on his couch for the last four months and they are practically with each other twenty four hours a day but that doesn't mean anything. It especially doesn't mean anything because Lio is absolutely not going to think about it.

But if Galo notices any of this he doesn't say anything (which Lio tells himself means that Galo _doesn't_ notice, since he tends to say every single thing that passes through his head) and he grabs the wooden sword that is sitting in the grass next to Lio.

“Ooooh, sparring!” Galo says. “Hang on a minute.” And he runs back up to his motorbike.

Lio uses the time to put himself back together, to compose himself for the next rush of whatever onslaught Galo is planning. It's probably not good, whatever it is, but Lio can't help but feel his heart began to thump just a little harder. Galo comes back a moment later holding a practice sword identical to his own, beaming from ear to ear.

“Where did you get that?” Lio asks as Galo throws his sword back to him. It's not sharp, just heavy, and Lio's actually a little surprised that he can catch it so easily. He must be getting stronger; when he first bought this thing he could barely lift it for five minutes at a time without his muscles screaming at him and now he's just been through an hour of training and can still hold it easily.

“I saw you had one and I thought it was cool! And then I thought that maybe one day you'd like to practice with it, and if you did that you'd need someone to practice with and so I got one just in case!”

Lio doesn't know what to do with this information or with the increasingly constricted feeling in his chest, so he goes for what he hopes will be an easy question.

“And you've just being carrying it around on your bike since then?”

“Yeah!”

“....Just in case I wanted to fight?”

“Yeah! I figured since the last time we fought I beat you, if we ever had a chance again I might be able to show you a few tricks...”

Lio's up on his feet already and he sweeps Galo's legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. It's a cheap shot, but judging by Galo's grin he at least half expected it. Plus, taking Galo down for that remark is a lot easier than unpacking the fact that Galo's been carrying around a training sword on his motorbike for the past month just in case Lio wanted to spar. Just to be ready in case Lio ever needed him.

“You know I let you win, that first time.” Lio says, deliberately stepping back and putting himself in a ready position. Galo scrambles to his feet and readies his own sword. “The whole point of us fighting was for me to get caught.”

Galo begins to circle him. Lio has to admit that his footwork actually isn't bad, and for a second he regrets spending the last hour and a half doing drills. He might actually need more of his strength for this than he thought.

“I think you say that now. I'm still not convinced that that was your original intention.”

There's more here, more to unpack, like how Lio was giving himself up to protect his people, to fight for their freedom, but Lio realizes that that's not what this is about right now. Now that everyone is safe, now that everyone is free, they can talk and banter like this. It helps to heal the old hurt, to reclassify it as something else, to re-frame it in a way that they both have control over.

Plus, Lio loses his goddamn mind when Galo starts acting cocky like this. That smirk he gives Lio when he's trying to rouse his anger makes Lio crazy with desire and wanting, and he half suspects that Galo knows it because he's doing it right now and Lio should be concentrating on his feet but he can't help but be distracted at the almost painful level of attraction that is coursing through him right now.

He has got to get his head in the game. No way he can let Galo Thymos beat him. He does a couple of twirls with his sword to get the blood flowing (to the correct muscles) again, and he feels the comfortable looseness that comes after his extensive training practices. The loss of the Promare made him weaker than he felt comfortable with, weaker than he ever remembers being; he's been training almost daily to make up for it, to feel like himself again. It's been good, and this strength feels real in a way that the Promare almost felt like cheating.

Galo lunges first, and Lio can see it coming from a mile away. He's toying with him, nothing serious, and Lio doesn't let himself go for the obvious opening that Galo leaves. A few flicks of his hand and he sends a flurry of hits towards Galo that he is only barely able to block, and Lio jumps back, laughing.

“I've already warmed up.” Lio says, twirling his sword again. He knows it's flashy, but it's kind of his deal and he likes the way Galo's eyes glitter when he does it. “If you want some time to loosen up...”

“I'm plenty loose.” Galo says, striking one of his ridiculous poses. Lio knows that Galo knows this leaves him open to an attack, but Lio's too busy rolling his eyes to do anything about it. “Maybe we just need to make this more interesting to keep your head in the game.”

Okay, it's not like Lio needs any more incentive to try and win here other than his own pride, but the way Galo says _interesting_ puts his mind in filthy places and he would do almost anything to know what Galo thinks is _interesting_. He keeps it cool though, and tries to look bored.

“Oh? And what do you have in mind, pray tell?”

Lio knows this has been a ruse about a fraction of a second before Galo attacks again, and he just barely manages to get his sword up in time to block the blows. Damn, Galo is really strong. Lio's not _that_ strong, not like Galo, but he is fast, and he uses some of Galo's energy against him, deflecting the blows and rendering the attack harmless.

“Playing dirty, are we?” Lio asks, annoyed that he almost fell for it. “Is that what you call interesting?”

“Just wanted to see if you were paying attention, Fotia.”

For some reason the use of his last name angers him, and Lio decides to attack this time, not leaving anything back. Galo's quick but not quick enough, and Lio manages to score a hit on him, although he concedes a little and pulls the blow at the last second, making it just hard enough to let Galo know that he got hit but not hard enough to leave a bruise. Probably.

“Good! Now that I know your head is in the game we can start the competition.” Galo announces.

Lio snorts. “Convenient. All right, tell me about this _interesting_ proposition of yours.”

There's no pause, and although Galo's been dancing around it he can tell that Galo had this in mind way, way before he ran to go get the other training sword off his bike.

“Winner gets the loser as a servant for a whole week.”

Lio does his best not to choke. “Servant?”

“Yeah!” Galo says, his grin bright and cheery. “Like, I'll make you do my laundry and all my chores and stuff.”

“I already do most of the laundry. And most of your chores.” Lio spits. He's embarrassed, even though he isn't the one who came up with such a ridiculous (and, frankly, suggestive) game, and he wonders if Galo knows just how suggestive it sounds. Galo just shrugs, and Lio changes tactics.

“Kind of juvenile, don't you think?” A last ditch effort to dissuade Galo from this, from this competition that Lio knows he will win (he _has_ to win) and that he knows that he will probably (absolutely) end up abusing by the end of the week. This will not end well for either one of them, but Lio just can't bring himself to walk away from an offer like that. He's not that good of a person. He's not...Galo.

Galo just shrugs. “If you're that scared about me making you do the laundry...”

The fight is quick, although not as easy as Lio had thought. Galo's fresh even if he isn't warmed up and Lio is fighting his own sore muscles. Galo manages to land a pretty hard blow to Lio's ribs early on, and Lio knows he'll bruise there tomorrow. But Lio is fast, and he's trained, and he's been doing this for over twenty years now (okay, a wooden training sword isn't anywhere near as cool as one made out of flames, and it does have this annoying habit of not turning into a _whip_ made of flames whenever he wants it to, but the general idea behind the two is the same) and Galo doesn't really stand a chance.

Galo eventually ends up on his ass with a loud thump, his sword flung across the clearing by a pretty decent blow from Lio, if he does say so himself. Galo smirks up at him, infuriatingly cocky even after he's literally been knocked on his ass, and Lio doesn't know whether he wants to hit him across the face with his sword or jump into his lap and start kissing him senseless.

Luckily, he doesn't have to choose. Lio's alarm goes off, and seconds after Galo's starts screeching as well. Their games are over for now; work takes top priority. They both run back to their bikes, Galo scooping up his sword on the way, and Lio nods for Galo to take the lead. He thinks that maybe, just maybe, Galo will forget this stupid competition in his haste to go do his favorite thing in the world—firefighting.

But then Galo turns and winks at him, and Lio knows this is far from over.

*** * * * ***

Lio actually manages to avoid Galo for the next two days, which is pretty impressive considering they live together (no, they don't live together, Lio reminds himself, he is crashing there, he's just a guest, there's a difference) but luckily (okay, not luckily) the fire they were called to help with was a giant warehouse fire on the edge of the city that takes them and another crew the better part of a day and a half to put out and clean up. Lio's got so much paperwork to do too, he buries himself in it to distract himself from...everything.

Galo confronts him on the third day. They've just finished rescuing a cat from a tree—Burning Rescue isn't always so flashy—and they're all back at the station, waiting for the next emergency, vacillating between extreme boredom and intense pressure. Lio figures he's safe from Galo when the others are around since he figures--hopes--that Galo won't want to let everyone else know about this embarrassing bet, but he's so engrossed in finishing up his reports that he doesn't notice that everyone else has slowly migrated to the garage to play some basketball.

Everyone except Galo, who's stalking towards him with a glimmer of intent in his eyes.

“You've been avoiding me.” Galo says, cornering Lio in the station's kitchenette. Lio's aware of Galo's size at the moment (okay, he's always aware of that) and how he practically blocks the exit just by existing. Lio could get around him, of course, if he wanted to, but he's afraid to admit to himself that he doesn't want to.

“I'm not avoiding you.” Lio huffs, putting as much indignation in his voice as he can, considering that Galo is correct. “Why would I be avoiding you?”

Galo narrows his eyes at him, and Lio can practically hear the gears whirring in his head. “This all started when we practiced the other day. Are you mad because you cheated?”

Lio's angry now. “I didn't cheat at anything. I won fair and square and you know it. _You're_ the one that lost that match.”

“Ha! Exactly. You did win, which means that I have to be your servant for the week. You've already wasted almost two days, and you haven't even made me clean so much as one dish! You're not playing.” He sulks, and Lio absolutely hates how cute he finds it.

“I don't see why you're complaining.” He grumbles. “If you're so hot for washing dishes you should just do it by yourself.” If Galo wants to get in a sulking match with him, he has met his match in Lio Fotia.

“It's not about that, dummy. I'm making dinner tonight. 7:00. You'd better be there.” Galo announces, pointing an angry finger at Lio, and stomps out of the room.

Lio sighs. He supposes the easiest way of getting out of this whole thing without completely humiliating himself is to just make Galo clean some dishes and do a batch of laundry. Hopefully that will be enough to make him feel like he is playing along without letting on how badly this is affecting him. Just one dinner and then he'll be safe.

*** * * * ***

True to his word, by the time Lio gets home (not his home, he's just crashing) Galo is in the middle of making dinner and his eyes light up when Lio walks in, and Lio's stomach twists in that now familiar way it does whenever Galo looks happy to see him.

Which is always, of course.

The apartment smells wonderful, and there are dishes everywhere. Lio briefly considers that this whole thing was just a way for Galo to get some weird dish washing kink out of his system, but he hopes that's not the case (although frankly he's up for whatever, if it's with Galo). He puts down his bag and steals a carrot from the cutting board where Galo is chopping vegetables and hops up lightly onto the kitchen counter. He likes this viewpoint of the kitchen; sitting up so high lets him see everything that's going on in the tiny space without getting in the way.

“Whatcha making?” He asks, snapping the carrot loudly.

“Pizza!” Galo announces happily.

Lio sighs. He likes pizza, but Galo seems to subsist on nothing but. In fact, judging by the pizza boxes near the fridge, he's already had pizza a few times this week.

“I hope you're not trying to complete with the infamous Margherita Mega Max Pizza.” Lio teases. “Because I think that place down the street has you beat.”

“It's not. I'm trying something new. It's a Detroit style pizza with a thin crust and I bought some different toppings. I'm not really sure what kind you'd like the best so I just got everything, there's some pepperoni here and some sausage and mushrooms and--”

“Detroit style pizza?” Lio asks softly.

“Yeah! I know that's where you're from, and I thought if you _were_ going to play along and make me make food for you, you'd maybe want something that seems like home...but I'm not really sure because you don't really talk about yourself a lot and if you want something else we can totally get take out...I even grabbed some menus on the way home in case you don't want it. It's okay if you don't, we can get something else, it's no biggie.” Galo seems embarrassed now, and he looks to Lio with a shy expression that Lio didn't think Galo was even capable of making.

But Lio barely notices how absolutely delectable that expression is because right now it feels like a two ton brick is pressing against his chest. Galo went through all this trouble...for him? He doesn't understand it, can't understand why Galo tries so hard to be so sweet to him, first with the sword and now with this pizza, his heart feels like it might burst and it takes everything in him to not jump off this table and pin Galo to the ground right here, right now.

Instead, he takes a deep breath before continuing. “Pizza sounds great, Galo. Thank you.” And Galo smiles and turns to finish chopping up the vegetables for their side salads.

“I was just kind of worried, you know.” Galo continues, bringing down the knife evenly. _Chop. Chop. _“You don't seem to want to take advantage” _chop_ “of the fact that I have to do everything you tell me to,” _chop_ “so I figured I would do this” _chop_ “and then clean up and maybe it'd get your head in the game.” _Chop. Chop. Chop._

“You know, Galo,” Lio says coolly, “if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you _want_ me to order you around.”

Galo falters in the middle of chopping a carrot and pushes down much too hard, sending half of the carrot flying across the kitchen. They both watch it sail in a lazy arc before it drops in front of Lio and rolls to a stop below his feet. Lio looks over in amazement at Galo and sees that Galo has flushed a deep, deep scarlet color, and the flush continues to spread as Lio watches it rise up his neck, up his cheeks and then consume his ears as well. He's so red and so heated looking that for a second Lio wonders if he accidentally set him on fire, before remembering that he can't do that anymore.

Well, not with actual fire, at least. It seems like he might be pretty good at setting him on fire in another, completely different kind of way.

Galo turns quickly back to the cutting board and starts chopping at a furious pace, and Lio can still see the tips of his ears burning from where he's sitting. There is absolutely positively no way that Lio is a good enough person to just let any of that go. He had promised himself that he wasn't going to abuse this power that Galo has been almost literally shoving in his lap, but he needs to know what the hell is going on with Galo right now.

“Galo, come here.” He says quietly. His voice is low and deep, and he can see Galo shiver, just a little. But Galo continues chopping, and doesn't move from the other end of the kitchen.

“Galo.” More forcefully this time, letting a little of his command seep into his voice. Galo does respond to this and slowly, almost regretfully, puts down his knife and walks over to Lio, not meeting his eyes. Lio's been manspreading on the counter and Galo is in between his legs right now, and Lio tries not to think about the fact that he could easily wrap his legs around him right now and bring him in close.

Instead, he uses his height advantage from the counter to its fullest potential. Placing one long finger on Galo's chin, he forces the other man to look him in the eye.

“Tell the truth, Galo.” It's an effort to keep his voice from shaking, but he's used to putting on this outwardly cold demeanor and he lets it slip over him like a comfortable robe. “Do you like it when I order you around?”

“Lio, you don't—”

“You have to tell the truth, Galo. Remember? You're my servant, and you have to do what I say. Isn't that what you wanted from the beginning? For me to order you around?”

“...Yes.” Shaky, hesitant, quiet.

Lio's heart sings, but he carefully controls his expression. He grabs Galo's chin a little firmer and squeezes, just a little, to let him know he means business.

“And I asked you if you like it when I do that. When I order you around. Tell me.”

“Yes.” A whisper.

“I didn't hear you.” Lio says quietly. “What did you say?”

Galo's eyes are bright, shining up at him in that gorgeous turquoise color that Lio has come to adore. Lio could stare at him like this all day long; Galo's so obviously, deliciously tormented right now, struggling not to wriggle around and his eyes are so dark and beautiful and he can't stand it.

“Yes, Lio. I like it. A lot. Like, a lot a lot.” Galo answers, a little louder this time, and his voice doesn't shake.

This time a delicious shiver runs down Lio's spine and he knows (he knew it from the beginning) that this was always going to end up this way. He wonders if Galo knows that too, and by the way Galo's eyes are shining up at him he suspects he does.

Not releasing his grip, Lio leans forward and he is certain that Galo wants Lio to kiss him, he can see it in his posture, in the way his eyes droop in the most alluring bedroom eyes Lio has ever seen, but he's not ready to gift that to Galo quiet yet. Carefully, slowly, gently, Lio places the lightest kiss on the end of Galo's nose, and then leans over into his ear.

“You'd better not burn the dough, Galo.”

Galo's eyes fly open and he's released from Lio's spell and soon he's rushing around, rescuing the dough from the oven and taking pots and pans off of the stove. Lio hops down from his perch, feeling lighter on his feet than he has in months.

*** * * * ***

The meal is amazing. Easily the best pizza Lio's ever had (sorry Margherita Mega Max) and the dough's just perfect and the salad is fresh and Lio wonders why Galo can't cook like this at the station when it's his turn to cook. He's cooked tepid hot dogs for the crew on his last three rotations, and Lio and the others were beginning to worry that Galo was someone who could scorch boiled water.

The fact that he could do this for Lio lights him up inside.

Galo's apparent sudden onset of extreme shyness is also giving Lio butterflies, and he works to keep the conversation flowing smoothly while Galo tries to regain his composure throughout dinner and stop blushing. He's adorable this way, and Lio has to force himself not to think about all of the things he's going to do to him later that are going to make him blush even more.

After they're finished eating, Galo cleans up the plates and actually washes them in the sink, making sure that each one is spotless before placing it in the drying rack. Lio thinks he might be avoiding him so he sits down to watch TV to give him some space, but eventually Galo comes and sits next to him. Not too close, but closer than they've sat before, and when Galo throws his left arm over the back of the sofa Lio can feel the tips of his fingers brush against his neck.

“That pizza was incredible, Galo. Thank you for making it for me.”

“It was no problem!” Galo beams, even though just buying the ingredients must have been a pretty major task. “I like making food for you.”

An awkward pause, and Lio takes the opportunity to scoot a little closer. Galo's arm is more firmly around him now, and he absently brings up his fingers to stroke at the back of Lio's head, running his fingers through his hair. With every ounce of willpower Lio has he suppresses the shiver that runs through him. Can't give away the game too early.

“Did you make anything for dessert?” Lio asks.

Galo frowns and smacks himself in the forehead. “Oh man, I knew I forgot something! Do you want something? I'll go get it right now, just say the word.”

“No, I don't think so.” Lio says slowly. “I think I want you right here.”

They've both been moving closer to each other so that they're touching now, and Lio closes up the remaining distance and snuggles up against Galo's chest, close enough to feel his catch of breath when he tells him that. Lio smiles.

“Tell you what. Since you so desperately want me to order you around, how about this. Tomorrow night, we'll go get dinner and then you can make dessert afterwards. Get anything you want. That's what I want you to do.”

Galo's fingers are absently brushing up against Lio's shoulder now, and he knows, he can feel it deep inside, that Galo wants something more from him. But he wants Galo to work for it. He wants Galo to want it as badly as he does--or at least, he wants Galo to say he does. He shifts a little so he's tucked right up into the crook of Galo's arm, and Galo squeezes him, urging him on.

“Is there...is there anything else you'd like me to do for you, tonight?” Galo asks, his breath husky.

Oof, if that isn't something that Lio has been obsessing over for the last two...okay, three months, then he'll eat his own gloves. But tonight he's not quite ready for that, not ready to give into what he's been hungering after for a while now. Lio's very good at waiting, he likes it, likes denying himself the pleasure that he's been after for so long. Only for a while, mind, not forever, but tonight he wants to make himself wait just a little longer.

But.

But that doesn't mean that there's no room for any sort of pleasure.

“Hmm,” he hums in Galo's ear, “I think I've been pretty well taken care of today. I think what I really want is to see _you_ taken care of.”

“Oh?” It comes out as a strangled sound from Galo's throat.

Lio huffs and reaches up to Galo's ear to tell him exactly what it is he wants from him. Galo flushes again but he doesn't hesitate when Lio tells him what to do, and Lio can tell that he's obviously (_very_ obviously) already very turned on by the whole thing. Lio just sits back and watches as Galo tightens his left arm around Lio, squeezing his arm almost painfully and then watches as he brings his right arm down to touch himself, rubbing at his cock through his pants. Galo's breathing starts to get a little more ragged as Lio sits back and watches the show.

Lio himself isn't unaffected by this; he knows that Galo can probably feel his own erection pressing up against his thigh, as close as they are sitting right now, but Galo was only given permission to touch himself and Lio doesn't want to think about his own pleasure right now. Watching Galo touch himself is a fucking _revelation_ and Lio wants his full attention on what Galo's doing. In a moment of weakness he does allow his hand to flutter over to land on Galo's chest (no shirt on, of course, it's like Galo's always prepared to fuck) and Galo reacts as if he'd been burned, jerking under him and letting a little moan of pleasure escape.

Lio's about to order him to get rid of his pants when Galo does it himself in a quick, jerking motion, freeing his cock and wrapping his fingers around it with a new intensity. If Galo's got any shame at being exposed like this Lio can't tell; he seems completely at ease and beyond that he's got absolutely no fucking reason to be ashamed of anything. Galo's got a beautiful, huge cock (of course he does, the man is built like a fucking Greek God) and Galo begins to build up his final rhythm when Lio stops him.

“You come when I tell you.” Lio whispers roughly in his ear. “Understand?”

“Lio,” Comes the breathless reply, but he slows, and then stops, “Lio, I'm so close. Please.”

“I know you are.” Lio purrs in his ear. “But I want to watch you just a little longer. Can you do that for me?”

Galo nods and takes a deep breath, starting up again slowly, slowly. Lio marvels at him again; he responds so well, has put all of his trust in Lio, and Lio wants to make sure that he gets everything he deserves.

“You've got a gorgeous cock.” Lio murmurs in his ear. “How often do you touch yourself like this?”

“More.” Galo rasps out. “More since you've been here.”

That one hits Lio straight in the gut, and it's all he can do to stop himself climbing on top of Galo right this fucking second.

“You think about me?” Lio asks.

“All the fucking time.” Galo responds, and he's so close now that he's practically stopped moving, Lio knows that just a few more touches will probably send him over the edge and he's stopped because Lio hasn't given him permission to come yet, and he decides it's probably time to let him before Galo eviscerates him with another fucking truth bomb.

“You're so pretty when you talk like that,” Lio murmurs, turning Galo's face towards his own and planting a light kiss on his lips. Galo's hungry, though, and pushes back towards Lio, claiming his mouth with all the fury of his delayed orgasm. Lio laughs and pushes Galo away, just for a second, so he can murmur his final command.

“Alright, Galo. I want you to come now.”

Galo's hand is working again and Lio wants to watch him finish but Galo's claimed his mouth again and Lio can't help but lean into it, and he feels the shudder go through Galo's body as he is finally allowed his release. Lio can feel just a little of the hot, sticky mess Galo made end up on his fingers, and he waits until Galo opens his eyes again to slowly bring his hand up to his mouth and he carefully, methodically licks his fingers clean, Galo watching him with open desire.

“Fuck.” Galo rasps out when he's done, collapsing back onto the sofa. “Lio, you're going to kill me.”

“Hmmm, not yet.” Lio says. “I've still got you for another four days. Just you wait.”

*** * * * ***

If Galo feels any differently about what's happening between the two of them then (whatever that may be) he doesn't seem to let it affect him at all. After a morning of Galo yelling at him for using all of the hot water (again) and the smile he gives Lio when he hands him a cup of coffee, it might as well just be a normal day in Galo's household. Lio can almost convince himself that nothing happened, that nothing changed between them, and then Galo wraps his arms around Lio's waist a little tighter than normal when they climb on the bike to go to work, and Lio's not sure of anything, anymore.

Work is interminably slow, and Lio can't help but glance at the clock every five minutes, waiting for the day to be over. He does it so much that Aina finally calls him out on it.

“Got a hot date later, Lio?” She says, smirking at him.

Lio turns his cool gaze on her, allows a small smile. “I taped the finale of the Great British Baking Contest. Not knowing who won is killing me.”

Aina rolls her eyes at this and flops back down on her bunk, playing some dumb game on her phone. Lio can hear Galo out in the garage, arguing loudly with Lucia. He's not going to think about it too much; if he thinks about Galo too much he's going to start thinking about what they did, what that means, what happens when the week of Galo being his servant is over, if Galo will want to...he sighs. It's all too much for him. He turns back to his paperwork and buries himself in it.

At least, he tries to until Galo and Lucia bring their argument into the common room.

“It will work Lucia, all you have to do is put an extra arm on it!” Galo's saying, waving his arms around, ostensibly trying to mime having a third arm. “That way it can carry the matoi and a sword!”

“You can do that with just two arms, idiot.” Lucia says, typing away on her handheld. “Plus how are you going to control three arms?”

“You could figure it out. I thought you'd be excited.” Galo huffs, crossing his arms and plops down on the couch. “I thought you would understand.”

“I understand everything.” Lucia spits, pointing a finger at Galo. “You ask for stupid things.”

“Will the both of you just give me some silence, please?” Lio snaps from his desk. “I have a lot of actual work to do, and you're distracting me.”

“Hmph.” Lucia mutters, storming back out of the room. “And to think I stayed up all night making those repairs for you...” she's still muttering but it fades into the distance and Lio sighs and gets back to work.

It takes him a few moments to realize that Galo is still sitting on the sofa, and he's now staring at Lio. When Lio notices he cocks an eyebrow at him and Galo looks away quickly. Lio feels a heat rise in him, and he turns back to his paperwork, absolutely determined not to notice or think or look at Galo until it's time to go home.

Not home. The place he's crashing at. There's a difference.

But Galo's silence in the room is deafening, coming from a man who is continually narrating every thought that crosses his mind and whose decibel level usually rivals a stadium of angry soccer hooligans, and eventually Aina notices the strange tension in the room.

“Hey Galo, what're you doing just sitting there?” She asks him. It _is_ unusual for him to be sitting quietly, Lio thinks, since usually he's doing what he was doing when he came in here—fighting, being loud, badgering someone about something. Even at home (_dammit_ not home) Galo's always talking to himself, to Lio, yelling at the TV, something, why would he—

Oh. Oh, he knows why.

Lio asked him to be silent. Galo has to do what Lio tells him; he's playing this game here, now, and now Aina's poked her head in and has barged into their game. Galo sends a pleading look at Lio, but Lio's actually kind of curious how he's going to get out of this one and so he puts down his paperwork and turns to watch the interaction.

Galo, of course, doesn't answer her. This seems to rile her up (she _is_ pretty bossy, and doesn't like when people ignore her, Lio thinks uncharitably) and she puts down her game and gets out of her lounge chair.

“Hey, Galo! I asked you a question. What're you doing?”

Galo still doesn't move, but starts to make strange...gestures with his hands. It's all Lio can do to hold in his laughter as Galo tries to mime what's happening—he sees what could be their sword fight, and that looks like chopping, and he mimes eating and _oh shit_ Lio hopes he stops soon before he gets to the rest—and he watches as Aina squints, trying to interpret the signals that Galo's desperately throwing at her.

“Are you...are you having a stroke?” She asks, although she doesn't sound very concerned. Mostly confused.

Galo shakes his head no and starts gesticulating again from the beginning and Lio can't hold in his laughter this time, and he turns back to his paperwork to try and stifle it, burying his head in his hands. Aina stares back and forth at the two of them for a moment before huffing in annoyance.

“I don't even want to know what ridiculous game you two are playing.” She says, and stomps out of the room.

Once she's gone and Lio wipes away the tears from his eyes he can see Galo sending him another pleading look, and Lio decides that he'd better put him out of his misery. He saunters over, enjoys watching Galo's eyes darken as he leans over him on the couch.

“You listen so well to my instructions.” Lio murmurs in his ear. Galo lets out a shaky breath as Lio nips quickly at his earlobe. “You're released from your silence.”

“You're such an _ass_.” Galo says.

“You like it.” Lio responds, and puts up his paperwork. He is most definitely not going to get any more work done for the day.

*** * * * ***

They grab some food on the way back to Galo's place; not an unusual occurrence for them, but Lio feels a different sort of weight to it this time. He's not even really that hungry, wants to get on with the rest of the night, but Galo is definitely not willing to go without food and so they quickly get through dinner in a companionable silence.

Afterwards, Lio makes Galo clean the kitchen again (there's not too much mess with takeout, so he doesn't feel too bad about ordering him around like this) and Lio hops up on the kitchen counter again, as much to remind Galo of their conversation yesterday as to see what he's preparing for dessert.

“So?” He asks languidly. “What are you going to fix up for me tonight?”

Galo throws an evil smile in his direction, and Lio is thrown off of his game for a second. Galo's not supposed to look at him like that, he's supposed to be all shy and embarrassed...but Lio feels his body begin to respond and he remembers how much he likes it when Galo's cocky, so he allows himself to blush and look away.

Galo's heating something up on the stove and in a minute he comes over to Lio, his finger coated in chocolate.

“Do you want to taste it, see if it's ready?” He asks.

Lio doesn't wait, he leans forward and takes Galo's chocolate coated finger in his mouth. The chocolate _is_ really good, but the way Galo closes his eyes and leans into Lio's touch is even better, and Lio spends a moment doing explicit things to Galo's finger. When he finally pops the finger out of his mouth and leans back Galo's practically swaying in his shoes.

“Seems ready to me.” Lio says suggestively.

“Do you want this dessert or not?” Galo asks.

“I do.”

“Well then, quit it. I've got to get it ready and if you do that again I'm gonna knock you right off of that counter, I swear to god.”

Lio huffs but motions for him to get on with it and Galo turns back to the stove, stirring the chocolate and eventually taking a carton of strawberries out of the fridge. He dips the cold strawberries in the chocolate and sets them on a sheet, letting them dry and cool before handing one to Lio. Lio takes it gently and bites into it, laughing a little as the chocolate cracks around his teeth and the juice runs down his chin. It's really good, and he's about to ask where Galo learned to make them when Galo walks over to him and straight up _licks_ the juice off of his face.

“Okay, I'm done with dessert.” Lio says, his voice urgent.

“Not quite.” Galo answers.

*** * * * ***

They're in the bedroom now and Lio can't _stand_ how curious he is about what Galo's planning. He carried a small bag into the bedroom but he wouldn't let Lio look, made Lio promise that he wouldn't peek. Lio rolls his eyes, pretending he doesn't care but it's _killing_ him and he's so _primed_ right now.

“Take off your shirt.” Galo orders.

Lio cocks an eyebrow at him. He's pretty good at being intimidating when he wants, and he puts his full force behind it right now. “If I recall correctly, you lost our little bet. I don't think you get to give the orders.”

“Ah, but you put me in charge of dessert,” Galo says, “and we're still having dessert. So. Take off your shirt.”

Lio suddenly knows Galo's been waiting all day to spring this trap on him, and with a jolt of excitement that goes clear down to his feet he starts slowly undressing. If he's not going to get to be in charge of this little escapade then he's sure as hell going to make Galo work for it, and he's rewarded when Galo's eyes go big as he follows Lio's fingers as they slowly unbutton the front of his shirt, and his breathing becomes ragged as Lio finally pulls it off and throws it into the corner of the room. Lio knows he won't ever get over the way Galo's looking at him right now, like he's the only thing in the world he's ever wanted, like he's the only thing Galo needs beside breathing and maybe not even that.

“Lay down,” Galo says, and this time his voice comes out a little ragged, “and close your eyes. Keep them closed.”

Lio trusts him, so he does. He can feel the weight of the bed shift as Galo kneels next to him, and hears a strange rustling as Galo takes whatever it is he has out of that little bag. A second later, he gasps as he feels something cold trail against his skin, followed by the wet heat of what can only be Galo's tongue.

“Galo, what are you...”

“Keep your eyes closed, I'll show you.” He says, and he reaches down to kiss him.

Galo's mouth tastes like cold strawberries, and after a second he recognizes the taste from the frozen popsicles Galo likes to keep in the freezer for when it's really hot out. After a moment Galo breaks the kiss and Lio feels the cold against his skin again, this time further down on his stomach, next to his belly button. He's already achingly hard, and as Galo's tongue follows the icy trail Lio can't help but buck a little under Galo's touch.

“You know, the first time I saw you eating one of these I nearly went mad.” Galo murmurs against his skin, and Lio strains to hear all of the sweet words dripping out of Galo's mouth. He keeps his eyes closed so he can savor the feeling of his other senses doing all the work, his world is full of Galo's mouth and Galo's words. “About two or three months ago, during that heat wave when the power went out. Remember? Just pushing it in and out of your mouth like you were trying to drive me crazy.”

“I _was_ trying to drive you crazy, dummy.” Lio chokes out. “Do you think a normal person eats a popsicle like that?”

Galo laughs, and it's the sweetest sound Lio's ever heard.

“Well, I guess this is payback then.” He brushes a hand over Lio's cock so _gently _(much, much too gently) and then moves away quickly before Lio can arch up into his touch. Lio hisses but Galo's already pressing the icy cold popsicle around Lio's nipples, and the combination of the cold and heat is driving Lio wild and Galo's running his tongue everywhere and Lio just can't stand it anymore, and he _whimpers_, he goddamn _whimpers_, which seems to be all the motivation Galo needs to finally start fumbling with his belt and wrestling his pants off.

“I swear to god, Galo, if you put that popsicle on my dick—”

Galo's laughing again as he takes Lio's cock in his mouth. His mouth is cold from the popsicle and Lio gasps, but it warms up quickly with Lio's heat. It takes everything in Lio not to push back as hard as he can, but he doesn't want to choke Galo (not when he's just getting started, at least) and he forces himself to relax into the bed and let Galo do his work. He's a little sloppy but he makes up for it in earnestness, and Lio gets the feeling he's not really done this before, and he can't help but smile.

He knows that Galo told him to keep his eyes shut but there's no way in hell he's going to let the image of Galo Thymos sucking his cock just vanish from beneath him without a glance, and when he opens his eyes he's met with the sweetest, purest image of Galo's head bobbing up and down, his eyebrows scrunched up deep in concentration as he works on taking Lio's length into his mouth. Lio makes a strangled sound and Galo looks up and there are those eyes again, those bright blue turquoise eyes, and he's looking at Lio with such an expression of happiness and brightness and Lio's fucking about to lose it already—

Lio pushes Galo away, a little less gently than he wanted (it takes way more willpower than he thought it would) and hooks his leg around Galo's, flipping him onto his back. Lio's aware that he's fully naked while Galo still has his pants on, and he's got to remedy that immediately. Luckily Galo's pants come right off (of course they do) and Galo's hard and waiting for him, his eyes raking up and down Lio's body as Lio climbs on top of him, his thighs on either side of Galo's waist.

“Are you going to hog all of the popsicle for yourself?” Lio asks, taking up the increasingly sticky mess of their dessert in his hands.

“Go for it.” Galo gasps, trying to arc into Lio's touch, but Lio shifts so that he doesn't get any relief. Yet. “You can do whatever you want to me.”

“Well if that isn't the nicest thing I've ever heard...” Lio says, and drags the popsicle along Galo's stomach, licking up the strawberry trail it leaves behind.

Lio's not so much interested in popsicles but he is interested in how Galo reacts to his tongue on every part of his body. He makes mental notes about all of his reactions, cataloging them and saving them for later. His ribs are ticklish, and when Lio licks there he gets a small huff of a laugh out of him. The collarbone elicits a gasp and that little divot where his hips meet his thigh makes Galo squirm and moan in a way that Lio knows he'll be hearing in his head for days. Licking near his thigh nearly sends Lio sprawling out of the bed, and he laughs as he pushes down harder on Galo to get him to quit wriggling so much.

By this time the popsicle is a mess—honestly they're both messes, all sticky and covered in sugar—and Lio tosses it back into the bag that Galo brought. Still straddling Galo he leans over and starts kissing him, this time without any games, without any holding back. Galo's open and inviting and responds in the most exquisite way to Lio's touch and Lio's never been with another lover who was this warm and caring and just...

Just so Galo.

“Lio, please.” Galo says, and bucks his hips up in an unmistakable motion. “I need you to...I want...”

But Lio already knows what he wants, and positioning himself above Galo he takes his own straining erection and Galo's together in his hand. He marvels at the scene it makes, his pale cock next to Galo's slightly darker and much bigger one, and they look so good together, and they feel even better together. He uses both hands to start to rub up and down, and the friction of Galo's skin against his own is enough to drive him wild, and he can tell that Galo's almost there too and he feels so good and so right—

Afterwards, Lio flops on the bed, trying to catch his breath and clean up a little. He's sticky to the touch, this time not just from the sugar, and he wonders if Galo would be up for a shower, and quickly dismisses the thought. He knows he would be up for it, it's just a matter of whether or not they'd get at all clean or just go for round two.

“I'm going to call that one Strawberry de Lion.” Galo says, apparently not bothered at all by the state of his body or his bed. “So far I think it's the best thing I've ever made.”

“I think I'm going to have to agree with you there.” Lio says.

*** * * * ***

“Want to grab some dinner on the way home?” Galo asks as they put up their Burning Rescue gear in their lockers after a long (so, so long) day at work. “Or do you want to eat in tonight?”

Lio hears the unasked question in the offer, but for once in his life he's going to have to turn down Galo. He's not really ready to deal with how upset that makes him, so he shoves the thought away as he slams his locker door.

“I can't.” Lio answers shortly. Galo's face falls when he tells him that and he aches, but Lio has to go to this engagement that he's been putting off for too long already and he _knows_ that he will absolutely be murdered if he cancels. Again.

“I have a previous engagement. I didn't plan...” what he wants to say is that he didn't plan on having Galo at his beck and call, and he considers once again how much trouble he would be in if he just didn't show up tonight. Would it be a lot? Okay yes, probably. “Anyway, I can't miss it. I promised.”

Galo bounces back quickly from the disappointment, though.

“Can I go with you? I'll keep you company.”

Lio cocks an eyebrow. “It's going to be in public, Galo. We won't be able to...you know.”

Galo sighs dramatically. “Is that all you think about?” He looks at the expression Lio makes and rolls his eyes. “Okay, _yes_ that's most of what I think about too. But still. I mean obviously it's not ideal. Anyway. But I don't mind going and I don't care what it is, as long as I get to do it with you. Well. Not “do it” do it. Public, whatever. But you know.”

Lio doesn't know how Galo says stuff like this so easily. Lio can still barely admit to himself that he wants Galo like this, wants to just be with him, that he wants whatever they're doing to last longer than this week....and Galo just fucking says shit like this, like he doesn't ever think about that sort of thing. Lio's jealous of that, and wishes it was that simple and easy for him.

On a slightly more disturbing note, though, it also means that if Galo really wanted this to continue on indefinitely, he would have said something already. And he hadn't. So there was that.

Lio takes a moment before answering. Something cracks inside of him, a little, as he realizes that he doesn't really care what they are doing together, as long as it is together. If Galo didn't feel that way at the end of the week....well. He could deal with that later; for now, he just wanted to be around the other man.

“It's going to be boring.” He finally admits.

Galo shrugs. “Okay.”

“I'm not going to use my...my power, whatever it is, I'm not going to force you to go.”

“I offered, remember?” Galo points out. “Tell you what, if it makes you feel any better we'll call a ceasefire for the night.”

“I didn't know that ceasefire was an option, although if it _is _an option seems like I should be the only one who gets to call it.” Lio grumbles, and Galo smiles at him.

“Exactly. Let's go.”

*** * * * ***

Lio's driving, and he winds through the streets of Promepolis with Galo sitting behind him, arms wrapped around his waist. A lot of the buildings they pass are still in need of repairs from their big fight, with many more just needing to be completely torn down. There's signs of life here and there though, from flickering lights that look like they could be candles to clotheslines strung between streets, patchwork roofing covering some domiciles and canvas and other found materials making hastily constructed awnings. It's starting to look like a city, and Lio can see children playing and laughing in the streets, and he doesn't know if they're all Burnish or not but it doesn't matter anymore, not really. There's a lot of ex-Burnish here, but there's a lot of regular people too; now that the Promare are gone, no one can physically tell ex-Burnish from regular folk, and a lot of the prejudice against them has died down without any outward physical manifestation to be bigoted against. Lio supposes it's for the best, although he can still feel some of his old anger begin to wake whenever he thinks about it for too long. He wonders if the other ex-Burnish feel it too.

Finally he sees his destination and pulls the bike up front. Galo gets off and secures his helmet and jacket on the bike (Lio convinced him that he needed to wear a shirt, although it pained him to do so) and looks up at the sign.

“The Fiery Dragon? Is this some sort of bar?”

“BOSS!!”

The doors of the bar fly open and Lio suddenly finds himself being squished to death by his old generals, Meis and Gueira. They're both hugging him, yelling about how happy they are to see him and how he never comes to visit, and it takes a few minutes before Lio's able to pry himself off. He's happy to see them both, glad in a way that he didn't know he was missing before. He'd been so distracted by work and...other things that he hadn't had time to think about it, but he had missed his friends, their camaraderie, their shared history.

“Ooh, what's this? You brought the buzzkill with you?” Meis asks, poking a finger at Galo.

Galo swats his hand away and huffs. “I'm not a buzzkill.”

“You put out the fires, that means you're a buzzkill.” Gueira explains, in a slightly nicer tone than Meis. “No offense.”

“None taken!” Galo beams. “If being a buzzkill means you put out fires, than I am the biggest buzzkill in the whole world!”

Lio looks at his two friends and shrugs. “Don't ask. So, are you going to show us around?”

Lio's been here before, of course, but for Galo's sake Meis and Gueira lead the two of them on a tour of their bar. It's not a huge space, but it's big enough for a few groups of bikers to gather and chat and play billiards and darts. There's a long, fancy looking bar in the middle with mirrors and a million different kind of bottles in it and slowly pulsing lights that make the bottles shine like they're on fire. Their bar looks clean and the patrons looks happy (and there are a lot of them), and Lio's happy that the place is doing so well. He had always known that his two old generals could do anything, but the overt Burnish theme here had him nervous, especially when they first told him about their idea, and more than their success he's glad it hasn't made them a target. 

He feels a twinge of guilt at the fact that they've been doing all this work and he hasn't made the time to come over more often, but if the two of them feel any sort of resentment towards Lio about it he definitely can't tell. They both seem really genuinely happy to see him, and to show off what they've done. Lio wonders if maybe there _isn't_ any resentment there; it's been a while since it was just the two of them, just Meis and Gueira without Lio, and maybe they needed that time to reconnect and figure out what their life looks like now that they weren't always on the run, always following orders and always using their combined energy to support Lio and their cause. If that is the case, he's happy for them. He knows it's not easy trying to make a new life out of the ashes of the old one, but he's glad they have each other, just like he's glad that he has Galo for however long Galo will have him.

Meis leads them to a nice leather booth in the back and they all file in and for a moment Lio feels like he's back on the run, like he's back with his two generals planning their next attack or trying to find their next safehouse, and he's actually a little nostalgic for it, now that there's some distance between that time and now. _Especially_ now that there's some distance between that life and his life now; his life now is organized, structured, he has a job, he has...

Galo. Lio's life used to be fire, he used to be consumed by it, but he's managed to find another sort of fire, one that burns just as hot but doesn't turn you to ash in the end. He watches as Meis teases Galo about his job some more, and Galo, sensing that Lio's looking, turns and smiles at him.

Gueira gestures for the bartender to bring them a round, and he turns to Lio.

“Boss, you gotta try this. It's our signature drink.” He leans back a little as a waitress brings over three flaming shots, sets them gently in front of the three ex-Burnish.

“We call it the Firebug.” Meis says, and smirks at Galo. “It's for ex-Burnish only.”

“Happy to leave you to it.” Galo says, eyeing the drinks warily. “Is that up to code?”

The three of them laugh as they down the drinks, and Gueira's already ordering the next round. “This is on us, boss. For everything, and more. Drink up.”

Lio doesn't hesitate, he brings the fire to his lips and downs the shot. The fire doesn't burn him and the liquid slides hotly down his throat, and for a moment his world spins a little before settling into a comfortable, almost familiar warm feeling in the bottom of his stomach. The sensation throws him off, a little; when he had seen the fire he had expected to feel some sort of pain, the pain of loss, maybe, or just regret, but as he looks over at his two friends and his gaze finally settles on Galo, who's eyeing him curiously, all he can feel is happiness at everything that has led him to this moment.

* * * * *

They've been sitting at this table for hours, swapping stories of the old times and updating each other on their current lives. Lio is so happy to be able to just talk to his old friends, and these delicious Firebugs aren't hurting either. He's probably had three or four (they did say they were buying, after all) and the world is so deliciously warm and comfortable right now, and Galo is such a giant hulk of a man and no one has said anything all night about Lio scooting closer and closer to him, using him as a stand to help himself stay up as the room gets just a little spinny. Lio's happy just being able to touch him, just being able to feel his presence next to him; it grounds him. Every once in a while, when Lio tips over precariously, Galo will grab his hand under the table and the heat will flare up regardless of whether or not there's a Firebug in front of him.

The patrons have slowly dwindled until it's just the four of them left, and Gueira tells the bartender to go home, get some rest, they'll clean up and lock the doors. Lio's loathe to leave his friends, even if the room they're sitting in is moving around too much for his taste, but he knows that the two have their business to attend to and that they've been sitting here for much too long, telling stories of the good ol' days.

Eventually Galo has to get up to use the restroom, leaving an uncomfortable emptiness near Lio's side, and that's when Meis and Gueira turn on him, their stares boring into Lio's foggy brain.

“When were you going to tell us you were with the buzzkill?” Meis asks, and Lio sees Gueira elbow him painfully in the ribs, although he's not really sure why. He's almost certain that the two of them saw Galo when they came into the bar, and he's been sitting with them for the last three hours, what does he....oh. Oh, he means “with” with, Lio understands now.

“Isnot like that.” Lio says. Hmm. He's pretty sure words aren't supposed to sound that close together, but he's not sure how to make them go farther apart. He's going to have to be careful here. “We're not together. He just wanted to come.”

Meis snorts. “I bet he does.”

This time Gueira stomps hard on Meis' toes, and Meis does this really funny thing with his face and Lio laughs at his silly expression, which in turn causes the other two to start laughing, and for a moment everything is fine and warm and not filled with dangerous topics that Lio can't even navigate sober, let alone however drunk he is now.

“So you're telling me that the two of you haven't hooked up.” Gueira says carefully, once the laughter has died down.

Lio frowns again. A tricky question. “We haven't slept together, if that's what you're asking.”

“That actually wasn't what I was asking, but thank you for the answer.” Gueira says, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. How are they still able to speak? Why don't they get all strange sounding like Lio, they had the fire things too, it wasn't fair. Wait, how many did they have? Lio remembers drinking a lot, but maybe the other two did something with their hands and waved them away, or pushed them over to him. If so, that wasn't very nice. He frowns and is aware he's being bratty but right now he lacks the ability to pull it back.

“Why do you care what we're doing anyway?” Lio asks, a little cross. “It's nothing serious. I'm crashing with him, that's all. It's temporary. It's fine. It's all fine.”

The two generals exchange a glance, an entire conversation passing between the two of them, and Meis shrugs. Gueira leans in.

“Boss, that man has the mental capacity, attention span and disposition of a golden retriever puppy.” Lio bristles at this, but Gueira motions for him to quiet himself. “_And_ he just spent the last three hours hanging on every single word that dropped out of your mouth, even the slurry ones. Every time one of us mentioned you his eyes would light up like it was Christmas. Every time I've met him before the man cannot stop talking about his burning firefighter's soul, and yet tonight he's not said two words. You may not be serious about whatever it is that's going on here, but I don't think that's the case for him. You should be careful.”

“I'll be fine.”

“It's not you I'm worried about.”

Lio closes his eyes, and behind his eyelids he sees the room still spinning.

“I am much too drunk to think about any of this.” He says finally.

The other two nod in agreement, and they both shout at Galo as he saunters back into the room.

“Hey Galo!”

“Closing time, buzzkill. Come get your boyfriend and get out.”

Lio's sober enough to notice that Galo only smiles at him and doesn't challenge the remark, drunk enough that he decides he definitely doesn't want to think about it right at this very second. Lio leans on him as they walk out of the bar, waves back to his friends as Galo places him gently on the bike, making sure he's not going to fall off before taking the wheel himself. The two owners watch them go, hand in hand, a smile on both of their lips.

* * * * *

When Lio wakes the next morning he's in a bed, a _real_ bed, not a couch, and he's wearing a large, over sized t-shirt. It's comfy and warm and smells like Galo and Lio thinks that maybe his head might actually split open and spill all of his brains onto the floor.

“Hey.” Galo says softly. “There's some water by the bed. You've probably got a nasty hangover.”

“What the _fuck_ is this.” Lio hisses, inching slowly towards the water. It hurts to move too fast, and it's confusing (how in the hell is _moving_ confusing) and eventually he makes it over to the water and finishes it in one gulp. It makes him feel better, but just barely. “Why does my fucking head hurt so much?”

Galo looks at him, cocks his head. Fuck, he really is like a golden retriever puppy. Wait, why did he just have that thought?

“It's a hangover. You've been drunk before, right?”

“I've been sort of drunk, but I've never had whatever this is.” Lio says, flopping back down on the bed and nestling under the covers. It's dark in there, and he wants to be in the dark right now. It's much, much too bright in here. He also wants to not be moving. He also wants it to be quiet.

“It's terrible.” He whines. He can't help it.

“I guess the Burnish didn't get hangovers, huh?”

“I guess not.” He grumbles. This is a side effect of losing his Promare that he is going to be very, very salty about for a long time. “There's no way I can go in to work today.”

“I already called out for you.” Galo says, and Lio feels him pat the blankets by his feet. “If anyone asks, you ate some bad seafood last night.”

“Did you undress me?”

“I've seen you naked, firebug. I figured you wouldn't mind.”

Lio doesn't, actually, and manages to grumble out something to that effect. When he opens his eyes again it's darker out and Galo is gone and his headache has abated, somewhat. Enough for him to crawl out of bed and get into the shower and then, slowly and carefully, get dressed. The night before is pretty blurry, especially at the end, but he's pretty sure that he didn't do or say anything too embarrassing. He knows the Meis told an especially filthy story about that time they were all holed up in a safehouse near Chicago, and his cheeks burn at both the memory of that day and the slightly more fuzzy memory of Meis' retelling. He was going to get shit from Galo for months for that, he knew it.

When he finally drags himself into the kitchen he sees that Galo has helpfully stuck a sign to the fridge that says “Food” on it, complete with a little arrow pointing to the handle of said fridge. Lio rolls his eyes and opens the fridge to see what they have. Pizza, of course, because there's always pizza in the house, but Galo's left a helpful note on this too.

“Eat it cold. It will help.” And at the end—a little heart.

Lio closes his eyes, lets the cold air from the fridge wash over him for a moment, and takes out the pizza. As for Galo's note, he reads it one more time, folds it up carefully, and places it in the shirt pocket next to his heart.

* * * * *

Galo doesn't come home that night. Lio sees why when he turns on the TV, even before Galo shoots him a text to let him know they're fighting something big and he's not sure when he'll be back. Lio feels terrible that he's not there to help, but from the brief shots that the news shows it looks like in addition to his own Burning Rescue team all of Station 6 and the girls from Station 11 are both there, so they've probably got too many people helping out as it is. Ignis is probably fighting right now with Station 11's chief to determine who's taking lead, and for once Lio isn't sure if Ignis is going to come out on top of that argument. That Station 11 chief is a great amazonian of a woman who frankly scares the shit out of Lio, and he knows Ignis will have his work cut out for him.

Lio's asleep on the couch when Galo finally stumbles home, his eyes open the instant he hears the key in the lock. Galo doesn't turn on the lights, tries to sneak by, but Lio turns on the lamp to make sure that he doesn't trip on anything. Galo's sweaty and covered in soot; he must have come straight from the firehouse without even showering.

“I didn't mean to wake you.” Galo whispers.

“It's okay.” Lio answers. “And I'm awake. You don't need to whisper. How was the fire?”

“I put it out with my burning soul!” Galo answers loudly.

Lio expects that answer, and he laughs when Galo says it. “Well, you and the girls from 11.”

Galo rolls his eyes. “Oh, yeah. You should have seen Sonja taking on Ignis. _That's_ where the real fire was.”

“Who won?”

“I'm not really sure. They were still fighting when we finished everything up and they sent us home. I'm going to take a shower. How's your head?”

“Better.” Lio feels his face flush and he turns back to his bed on the couch. “Thanks for the pizza. It helped.”

Galo doesn't respond, and Lio hears the water turn on shortly after. What is _wrong_ with him? What is he _doing_? Everything comes crashing down on him suddenly, and he has trouble breathing. This easy banter between him and Galo, whatever it was they were doing messing with each other, suddenly it all becomes too much for him to handle. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, a place where he could crash while he was looking for a real home. It was supposed to be weeks, not months with no end in sight. And he wasn't supposed to let things get messy like this, playing dumb games with Galo, pining over stupid notes like some lovesick school boy.

And what _about_ Galo? Lio knows what Meis and Gueira said the other night, but he's not sure if they're right. Galo's a handsome guy, Lio knows he's got groupies that follow him sometimes and he's pretty charming with the ladies when he wants to be, is Lio just an easy lay for him, or some sort of curiosity he's trying to get out of his system? And if that's the case, is Lio okay with that? Galo obviously enjoyed what they had done together, but would he want to stop now that the week was almost over? If he did only have this one week with Galo, this one strange week where the rules were bent, just for them, is he okay when that ends? Lio feels his headache coming back, and he pulls the blankets over his head. He has got to stop overthinking this. It is what it is. If Galo kicks him out tomorrow, he knows how to survive. He's done it for years, way before he met Galo and even way before Meis and Gueira. He'll be okay.

If that's true, why does his heart hurt so much when he thinks about it?

“Hey, Lio?” Galo's voice knocks him out of his spiral. He hadn't even realized the water had shut off some time ago.

“Yeah?”

A slight pause. “Do you want to come to bed?”

Lio lets out a shaky breath and pushes his palms into his eyes, trying to relieve some of the pressure that's been building up inside of him. It doesn't help; he knew it wouldn't. Wordlessly he gathers his pillow (Galo's pillow) and pads into the bedroom, snuggling under the covers that Galo has opened for him, and the last thing he sees before falling asleep is Galo smiling at him.

* * * * *

“It's been one week.”

They're in bed, facing each other, and Galo hasn't opened his eyes yet but Lio knows he's awake. It's dark out, even though it's pretty late into the morning, and Lio can hear rain patter against the windows. Galo murmurs small nothings and reaches out a hand to lightly stroke Lio's hair, and it takes everything in him not to just melt into the touch.

“Did you hear me, Galo? It's been a week.”

“A week since what.” Galo mumbles. He's definitely awake, just not too conscious yet. “A week since we've had pizza? You want pizza?”

“No, it's been like 12 hours since pizza.” Lio huffs. “It's been a week since our bet.”

Galo pops an eye open, regards Lio quickly and then shuts it again. “Okay.”

“Okay what.”

“Okay I guess I got out of doing the laundry.”

Normally a quip like that would get a laugh out of Lio, but he's still too wired and nervy from all of his thoughts the night before. He doesn't know where he stands, right now, and that's not something that he's used to and it's not something that he likes. He's survived this long by being able to read a situation, to know when it's dangerous, to get out while he still can. Right now he's not sure if he stands on the edge of a precipice, and he's not used to the vertigo.

Galo must be able to read his tension because both of his eyes come fully open and he smiles a slow, languid smile. Reaching over he pulls Lio towards him and Lio allows himself to be folded into Galo's arms, breathing hotly against his chest as Galo strokes his back.

“Lio, I think I should tell you something, before this goes too far.”

Before _what_ goes too far, is this not far enough, Lio wants to scream, but he doesn't say anything and just grunts at him to continue. He's prepared for the worst, ready for Galo to say this was all some sort of elaborate joke and it's been fun but it's time to go, now.

“I...I lost that bet on purpose.”

Ooookay, that was not what Lio expected to hear. He pushes himself away from Galo so he can look him in the eye, see if Galo is making fun of him, but he's not—he's serious, not laughing, not making a joke.

“What do you mean, on purpose?”

“I mean, I came up with the idea for that bet knowing that I would lose.” He at least has the decency to look a little embarrassed now.

Lio punches him in the shoulder, lightly. “You knew you would lose because I'm better than you.”

Galo shrugs, accepting this judgment.

Lio tries to regroup his thoughts, to logically explain to himself what Galo is trying to tell him right now. Reframe. Reclassify. 

“So basically you purposefully chose a contest that you knew I would beat you at fair and square with stipulations that you came up with to benefit yourself.”

“Whyyyyy do you have to make everything so complicated?” Galo groans, turning and burying his face into the pillow. Lio's wheels are turning, he understands what Galo's telling him but he's not sure he can believe it, not sure he can let himself believe it. He knew Galo was up for all the fooling around; he wouldn't have done it otherwise, not if he wasn't sure. But the fact that Galo set this whole thing up on purpose....did he know that it would end up with the two of them in bed, when he came up with it, or was that just a happy accident?

“What does that mean, Galo.” Lio says, hating how desperate his voice sounds, hating how much he wants—needs—Galo to reassure him right now. “I need to know what you mean by all of this.”

Galo sighs and pushes himself up to a sitting position, and Lio finds himself unconsciously following him. They stare at each other for a second, and then Galo reaches out with both of his hands and frames Lio's face.

“And people say _I'm_ an idiot.” Galo says, and reaches in for a kiss. As much as Lio wants to force Galo to clarify what he means again he feels his body lean into it unconsciously, into Galo's touch, and he opens up under Galo's insistence, loses himself for a few moments until Galo breaks their kiss.

“I'm _yours_, Lio.” Galo whispers, still holding Lio's face in his hands and he's so warm, looking at Lio with such love, and Lio feels something inside of him break apart at these words and reform into something brighter, stronger than it was before.

“Ever since I met you I knew that I belonged to you. I would do _anything_ for you, bet or no bet, for as long as you'll have me.” Galo's voice is fierce now. “How could you not know, after everything?”

The answer is easy to come up with, harder to actually accept; he didn't think that he deserved it, didn't think that having this was something that he would ever be allowed to have. Galo's words have broken him and he's unable to voice his answer. Galo probably doesn't need a response. Lio doesn't even realize that he's crying until Galo wipes a tear away gently with his thumb.

“I'm sorry about the bet.” He continues. “It was cowardly of me. I just wanted you so bad, I thought about you so often, and I didn't think that you ever...I didn't think you'd ever want to...”

“You _are_ an idiot.” Lio says, pushing Galo down on the bed and claiming his mouth again. This time it's different; they're both urgent, desperate to touch each other, and Lio can feel Galo's hands roaming all over his back, his ass, lifting him so that eventually Lio has to straddle him to avoid kneeing him in the groin. Lio doesn't mind; he likes this position, towering over Galo, with Galo helpless underneath him.

“Ah, Lio, we could have been doing this for the last four months...” Galo gasps.

“Let's do it now.” Lio says, tugging down Galo's pants. He can already feel Galo half hard beneath him, and Galo wiggles to help him expedite the removal of all pieces of clothing. Lio's only got an oversized t-shirt on but he leaves it. It's Galo's and he likes it, and he's always liked the way Galo looks at him when he wears his clothes. They _should_ have been doing this for the last four months; now Lio understands all of the hastily averted glances he's seen Galo give him, the awkward excuses for touching him, the way he always, always comes to find him. It wasn't just the way Galo was, it was the way Galo was for _him_.

“I need you inside me.” Lio whispers, and Galo groans. “Please tell me you're prepared.”

Placing one hand on Lio's hip to steady him, Galo reaches over to the bedside table and opens the drawer, rooting around for something. Finally his fingers close in on a tube and he flops back over and hands it to Lio.

Lio stares at the tube of lubricant, unopened. He looks down at Galo, slowly realizing.

“Have you ever...with a man, before?”

Galo shakes his head, that flush creeping up his cheeks again. “Not with anyone, before.”

Lio rocks back a little. He had suspected that Galo was a little inexperienced, but he hadn't expected him to be a virgin. Not looking like that, not with that fucking face and that fucking body.

Galo must see the indecision in Lio's face, because he says “Lio, please. I want to. With you, please, I need to...”

And that's really all the encouragement Lio needs.

“I'll show you how.” He says, and hands the tube back. “Open it, and put some on your fingers.”

Galo does so (he follows directions so well, Lio knows, and he'll definitely be putting that to good use in the future) and Lio shows him how to open him, how to spread him to get him ready. Galo is definitely the biggest out of anyone he's ever been with, and he makes Galo go to three fingers before he feels like he might be ready for him. Lio positions himself over Galo's cock and gently, gently lowers himself down, Galo's hands a steadying force on either side of him, helping him.

“Don't move.” Lio grits out, taking Galo's girth inside. Pain flares up inside of him but it's a comfortable pain, as strange as that sounds, it's pain with a promise of something much, much better. Goddamn Galo's so huge, Lio thinks he might actually rip apart but he's opening up, getting used to the feeling of him, and he can't get over the fact that Galo is inside of him right now, so warm and so wonderful and just so, so _right_, and Lio sinks down a little further until he's finally as far as he can go.

“Lio please.” Galo says, and Lio can see him straining not to move, his muscles shaking with the effort. “Oh god you feel so fucking good—”

And then Lio begins to move, slowly at first, then picking up the pace, setting the rhythm of their encounter, and Galo's eyes practically roll back into his head. Lio wants to take a second to memorize how perfectly beautiful Galo is underneath him, but then he's moving again, feeling the incredible friction inside of him and watching Galo unravel as he feels himself get closer and closer to his own release. Galo's looking up at him in amazement, like Lio's just the greatest goddamn thing he's ever seen in his whole life, and Lio knows that he must look the same because right now he feels like the luckiest person on the whole fucking planet.

The Promare are gone, and for the first time since they left him Lio feels powerful, really, actually powerful, and it's got nothing to do with strength or muscles or fire or anything like that. He knows that he can do anything, he can accomplish whatever he wants, that he is unstoppable—as long as Galo is here with him, like this, then together they are the most powerful people in the world. He's getting closer and closer to the edge and his vision is bright, but there's something he wants—needs—to do, and he leans over, enjoying the way Galo stretches him when he's like this, and kisses him fiercely.

“I love you, Galo.” He murmurs into Galo's ear. “I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realize it.”

“_Fuck_, Lio. I love you so goddamn much too.” Galo says, and Lio feels the world crumble out from beneath him, and he feels like he's tumbling, falling, and when he finally stops spinning he opens his eyes there's Galo under him, his eyes a bit unfocused and he has the hugest smile on his face and his arms are wrapped around Lio, holding him against his chest, and Lio can feel the earth beneath him again, solid and sure as anything he's ever known. They're both sticky and tired but Lio doesn't care and he's not sure that Galo will let him go, so he accepts it and snuggles into him.

The two satisfied lovers drift off to sleep in each other's arms, listening to the patter of the rain, and Lio finally knows that he's home.

**Author's Note:**

> Writing from Lio's POV was SO HARD, you guys. I hope I managed to make him compelling and consistent throughout the story. This got way, way longer than I thought it would and it also took way longer to write than it should have, but I hope it's fun to read. I also wanted to push back against the "Lio always being cold" trope, I hope it was moderately successful. Let me know if you enjoy it!


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